ITinfo: William Hewlett Dies at 87

William Hewlett Dies

HP co-founder leaves behind a strong legacy

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William Hewlett Dies at 87

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

It's a sad day in the technology industry. Legendary Hewlett-Packard co-founder William Hewlett, who started his billion dollar computer-and-instrument company in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, Calif., and then went on to provide the cultural foundation for modern-day Silicon Valley, died in his sleep Friday morning. He was 87.

Hewlett was the engineer of the duo that included the more business-oriented David Packard, who died in March 1996. Together, the pair founded HP in 1939 with $538 in cash.

They named their first product, the audio oscillator, Model 200A, on the grounds that the number would make the company appear well-established. They sold it for under $100, when competitors charged $400. Their first customer was Walt Disney Studios who bought eight oscillators, which were used to test sound equipment in the production of the movie "Fantasia." The oscillators sold to Disney for $71.50 each.

HP expanded into computers in 1966 and calculators in 1968.

Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1913, Hewlett attended Stanford University in 1930 and as an undergraduate met Packard. He received a bachelor's in arts from Stanford and a master's in science in 1936 from MIT. Three years later, he received a master's in engineering from Stanford.

Famous for his "management by walking around" style, Hewlett leaves behind a company that earned $48.8 billion in fiscal year 2000 and has more than 88,500 employees.

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updated January 12, 2001
http://dgl.com/itinfo/2001/it010112a.html